What's interesting is that this angle of cloud computing has already been covered a couple years ago when RMS first raised these concerns. The answer is still the same: "cloud" does not necessarily mean "non-free."

I'd say probably opportunism. They come to him with donations, big ones. Then he goes back to them when relevant laws come up, to get their preferred stance. Then he gets more donations for his next campaign. It is odd, I will admit, that Big Content has that much stake in VT. But if he's on the committee, then it's not too shocking that they would seek him out.

I'm not an expert on the Android platform, but here's my take. Apps downloaded via the Android Market are tied to your Google account. That way, you can move between devices and not have to re-purchase any paid ones, or have to deal with the headaches of re-downloading freebies. So, in that way, you could say that Android has a backdoor to Google.

That said, you can install apps from non-Market sources by simply checking a box in the Settings. Install the app from any other avenue besides the Market, and Google can do naught. The issue about this app is that it was distributed through the Market, which is its own trusted source.

Is the buyer really going to come back and demand a refund when it doesn't work?

Probably not, but reputation must be worth something in criminal enterprises. Giving out a bunch of bogus products kills the word-of-mouth.

And what real benefit are these, anyway?
Well, all the criminal has to do is sell off the account for less than the game costs up-front. They make pure profit and people willing to buy stolen games get a discount. Steam accounts could probably be quite lucrative, for instance.

It all revolves around the question: how much do you trust Google? If one is operating on the assumptions that a) this isn't the end-all of Google's illicit data-mining, and b) that not all (if any) of it is accidental, there's a strong precedent to be set here. At least, in the public's hands, an independent audit is possible.

I'd say we should be more concerned about the crap private companies can pull (a problem we can't solve) with the crap that governments pull (a problem we can solve, in theory).

Everything in your list can be accomplished by unmanned exploration, except for the effects of microgravity and astronaut jobs. We'd generate even more (useful) jobs if we focused an R&D effort on replacing our archaic technology.